Category Archives: Not art.

After a long night of working on websites, I let off a bit of steam with my old buddy Photoshop.
The above result was inspired by the Danger Ensemble’s physical theatre piece for the Amanda Palmer song “Have to Drive.”
No video could possibly do their performance justice, ever, but this one should give you the general idea.

“…is like doing a line of coke. Except, instead of being exhilarating, it’s just…depressing.”

Just some quick snapshots from the past week. Finally got all the art framed and shipped out for First Fridays. Tomorrow I am lucky enough to be attending what will probably be the highlight of my year: Amanda Palmer and the Danger Ensemble at the Magic Bag in Ferndale (near Detroit.) I’m pretty excited–I’ve been in love with Amanda since the ninth grade. And by “pretty excited,” I mean I’ve been dancing around squealing since I bought the tickets earlier. I got to see her in The Dresden Dolls a few years back, when they were touring with Panic! at the Disco, and meeting her after the show in the parking lot will probably stick in my memory forever. I was almost in tears afterward.
Two years, four months and sixteen days ago, in all our sweaty, nasty, post-show glory. (The photo was dated.)
Yeah, I’m pretty excited.

While I don’t have any new art to post (work has been killing me dead this week), I do have something wonderful!

page eighty-three of ramon perez's "kukuburi"

Kukuburi by ramon perez is easily the prettiest comic I have ever laid eyes on–it’s absolutely adorable, and the colors make me want to paint every wall in my house with supersized pages of it. I can’t get enough of it! And it’s updating once more, which is good news for everybody.

I got a new car today, so I spent most of today driving it around aimlessly, enjoying the feeling of freedom and running a few errands that were long-overdue. And I have a job interview tomorrow! Between those two big things happening in my life, there wasn’t much time for new art, so I bring to you a few random giblets from the past.

an older sketch of Emery

i really tried to nail the democratic cliche as close as i could

a fairly recent ink drawing of Magen

More “real” art this weekend, if all goes as planned…I hope.

Also, in other exciting news, I’ll be attending the Tri-City Art Battle this weekend. Unfortunately, I won’t be participating, but I’m looking forward to event nevertheless. You can find out more about the night’s events here and here. If you’re in the area, I hope to see you there!

I’m exhausted, but I wanted to get this done and up, so no color. You can kind of tell I was getting sloppy towards the end–I’ve been up and running around in the sun all day, obviously.

Frankenmuth (aka “Little Bavaria”) is a town not too far from where I live. The entire town is a tourist trap, with the bait being cheese and chocolate. Their shtick is that all of the architecture is built to look like Franconian Germany. The Muth is also home to Bronner’s (“The World’s Largest Christmas Store”) and a couple friends of mine from college. In addition to all that, it’s infamous in the Tri-Cities area for being rich and snobby. Also, we did not see a single non-white person all day. Frankemuth is bitchy.

The story behind the interview is actually really cool, though–I went along with B to keep him company (I don’t know why he and Mae took separate cars? whatever) and while he and I were sitting outside the conference room the auditions were taking place in, the arts manager–who we met at one of the Lawnchair Film Festival showings a few weeks ago–came out to talk to us. She asked if I was auditioning, and I explained that no, I don’t act (anymore), and that I was a techie. She got super excited and asked if I would come in and talk to her and the director about my experience and skill set. I was all, “Yeah, sure.” So I did.

For those unfamiliar with the theatre world, Equity theatres mean that actors (and techies!) are part of a labor union, get fair wages and health benefits, etc., etc. In case you missed that, there was a keyword in there. Wages. Now, I do tech because I think it’s fun, it’s challenging, and it gets me out and being social, versus being holed up alone inside drawing little pictures all day with just my cats for company. But, well, what can I say? A little money would definitely not work.

So here’s to hoping that they liked me and want me to design some sets in the near future.

For those of you unfamiliar, Illustration Friday is a “weekly illustration challenge.” Basically, every Friday a new topic is posted, and anybody and everybody who wants to take a shot at illustrating it is welcome to. This week’s topic was “Sail,” and since I’ve been sick all day and not really done anything productive as far as art goes, I decided to have a go.

I’m not entirely satisfied with the result; it needs something to tie it all together. But for a quick-and-dirty sketch-and-color, it’s not the worst thing I’ve ever done. Considering how I’ve felt all night, I’m happy with “not horrifying.”

Fun fact: I had to stop about halfway through this and bow to the porcelin god for a good twnety minutes. I was certain I was going to toss up everything I’d eaten today–including that delicious Chai ice cream that I, being lactose intolerant, knew far better than to eat, but devoured anyway. I can’t resist anything Chai.

Also, if you get the chance to check it out, Big Buck Bunny is an adorable CG short by the folks over at the Blender Foundation. It’s funny and cute and I like it. I mean, a massive bunny versus a tiny chipmunk-looking-thing? Honestly, it’s more entertaining than whatever it is you’re doing right now.